Pandering to cheats

Mohammad Aamer: One of the cricketers caught up in the alleged match-rigging scandal

Already, excuses are being made on behalf of the Pakistani cricketers involved in arguably the sport's greatest match-rigging scandal.

They earn less than other players and come from poor backgrounds, bleat some misguided members of the sporting commentariat, including ex-cricketers.

Meanwhile, the English authorities balk at the idea of cancelling the already discredited upcoming one day internationals with Pakistan - worth millions in ticket sales - for reasons of pure financial greed.

And the Pakistan Cricket Board considers it satisfactory to merely 'drop' the three players against whom the evidence is most damning - rather than ban them indefinitely, while criminal investigations are concluded.

We remind the cricket world that trying to sweep this sad scandal under the carpet will only further undermine the integrity of the sport. The cheats must be driven out once and for all.